Climate Change: The Looney Lord Responds

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, November 10th, 2009 - 37 comments
Categories: climate change - Tags:

On many of our apparent disagreements, it seems that Lord Monckton and I sometimes use different terms to explain the same thing. For example, he believes the response to the AIDS sufferers should have been to ‘isolate all carriers as quickly as possible, so as to prevent transmission of the infection.’ I see the same situation, in which AIDS suffers are denied freedom of movement until there is no longer any risk of them transmitting the disease (i.e. until they die), as ‘imprisonment until they die.’ On those sorts of occasions I am happy to agree to disagree with Lord Monckton, and submit them to the court of public opinion.

On other occasions we simply have different viewpoints on debates within the scientific community. For example, Lord Monckton believes that ‘the scientific method operates in such a way that if a hypothesis is disproven it fails.’ By ‘disproven’ here, Monckton means that evidence is found that is inconsistent with the hypothesis. In the philosophy of science this is called ‘naïve falsificationism,’ called naïve because adopting that position denies that science has essentially any knowledge of the social world there is an exception to basically every rule in economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. Does nobody in any of those disciplines actually know anything? That seems a bit harsh. I prefer other, newer views of the scientific process, such as ‘sophisticated falsificationism’ and the epistemology of Imre Lakatos. Again, I am happy to agree to disagree with Monckton on those issues, and to trade put downs on those topics with him if he wishes.

On still other occasions, Lord Monckton seems to take umbrage at having the rhetorical barbs he deploys against others deployed on him instead. If Lord Monckton is going to call Barack Obama a ‘communist,’ call the IPCC ‘liars’ and ‘cheats,’ and so on, then it can hardly surprise or shock him when some of that rhetorical vigor bounces back his way. In the parlance, he ‘put himself in harm’s way.’ For my part (and to avoid any hint of hypocrisy), I am not upset at all when Lord Monckton calls me ‘hapless’ and accuses me of engaging in ‘rants.’ I wear abuse from Lord Monckton as a badge of honor.

There are some occasions, however, where we disagree on things that are directly verifiable. Here are my four favorite examples of Lord Monckton swearing that black is white. In my view, these examples illustrate nicely his lack of integrity and credibility.

Lord Monckton ‘Nobel Peace Prize winner’

Monckton: ‘Salmond says I claim to be a Nobel laureate. I made no such claim.’

View the original Monckton video at around 40:15:

‘ and for that I wear, with pride, my Nobel Peace Prize pin. I too, Al baby, am a Nobel laureate, [applause] but I got it for telling the truth and you got it for telling lies. [Applause]’

[Btw, there doesn’t appear to be any such thing as a real Nobel prize pin. The only person I can find saying they got one is Monckton. Actual recipients get medals. Eddie]

Lord Monckton ‘Legislator’

Monckton: ‘Salmond says I claim to be a member of the House of Lords I do not have, and do not pretend to have, the right to sit or vote in the House: that right was removed from my father and nearly all hereditary peers in 1999.’

Here is Monckton, in 2006, referring unambiguously to himself:

‘Finally, you may wonder why it is that a member of the Upper House of the United Kingdom legislature, wholly unconnected with and unpaid by the corporation that is the victim of your lamentable letter, should take the unusual step of calling upon you as members of the Upper House of the United States legislature either to withdraw what you have written or resign your sinecures.’ (Emphasis added. Hat Tip: BLiP)

Lord Monckton ‘Scientist’

Monckton: ‘Salmond says I do not have a peer-reviewed publication in any scientific journal on any topic. Readers may like to visit the website of Physics and Society, which published a peer-reviewed paper by me entitled Climate Sensitivity Reconsidered in July 2008.’

Following Lord Monckton’s advice, I visited his article on the interwebs directly, and found the following note at the top:

‘The following article [by Monckton] has not undergone any scientific peer review, since that is not normal procedure for American Physical Society newsletters.’

Lord Monckton ‘Foreign Policy Analyst’

As I posted originally, there are myriad errors in Monckton’s big finish, but this is the most obvious one. In Monckton’s original presentation, he says: ‘if that treaty [of Copenhagen] is signed, your Constitution says that it takes precedence over your Constitution, and you can’t resile from that treaty unless you get agreement from all the other state’s parties ‘ Of course the US Constitution says no such thing, as I pointed out. So now Lord Monckton’s position has changed to:

‘Salmond says treaties do not supersede the US Constitution. However, by the Vienna Convention on International Treaties, to which the US is a signatory, the terms of a treaty prevail over any domestic law.’

That is, of course, a not at all the same position. At least on this occasion Lord Monckton has attempted to change his story rather than reflexively deny his own words. Kudos to you, Lord Monckton, on that rather modest accomplishment.

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37 comments on “Climate Change: The Looney Lord Responds ”

  1. For example, Lord Monckton believes that “the scientific method operates in such a way that if a hypothesis is disproven it fails.’ By “disproven’ here, Monckton means that evidence is found that is inconsistent with the hypothesis.

    Now, I’m no big city philosopher-scientist, but I’m okay with Monckton’s view on this one. If evidence is found that is inconsistent with a hypothesis, then either:

    1. the evidence isn’t true; or
    2. the evidence isn’t actually inconsistent with the hypothesis; or
    3. the hypothesis is wrong

    That’s not to say that any evidence against global warming proves it is BS – e.g. this winter was colder than last year’s for much of the planet – just that option 2 is usually correct (just because 1 winter was colder than a previous year doesn’t mean the globe isn’t warming, or won’t warm).

    The alternative is option 3 but that will not always mean that the hypothesis is completely wrong, rather that needs to change in some respect.

    • Rob Salmond 1.1

      Graeme

      I’m no great philosopher either, but I do teach a little of this stuff, so…

      You can think of the difference between the naive and sophisticated versions of falsificationism this way: one is about “dismissing incorrect theories”; while the other is about “making theories less bad through evidence.”

      For my money, the two biggest problems with the naive view are (1) that is is totally destructive; and (2) that it presupposes that the evidence is correct. It becomes incumbent on the proponent of a theory to actively undermine the contradictory evidence – kind of like that old school debating addage that an unrebutted argument stands, regardless of how good or bad it is. I would rather operate on the premise that I am / we are not always smart enough to know which evidence is true and which is false, and so instead of having a strict bright-line test I would rather we look at “the preponderance of the available evidence.” And it this substantive case, I – as a layperson – am still persuaded that the preponderance of the evidence points towards anthropogenic climate change that needs to be addressed.

      • zelda 1.1.1

        Rob , you ‘teach and publish’ in Politics. I wouldn’t dignify it with the word science

        • Bright Red 1.1.1.1

          grow up zelda.

          political science is taught at every decent university in the world. It’s one of social sciences

    • lprent 1.2

      Graeme: You’re referring to the usual cyclic background effects? In that case look at decade(s) so you can measure equivalent points. Doing year to year comparisons is as useless looking at climate change as doing quarterly ones during a year.

      But the key words are “Climate Change”. When you pump more energy into a system the effects are going to go all over the place. The most extreme example would be if the north atlantic conveyor currents wound up with too much fresh water from higher precipitation north of florida. Then the gulf stream stops (as it has many times before) and there is a rapid glaciation in northern europe and america. That is a case where global climate changes have caused a regional cooling in the past.

      Or the alternate. Glaciation in the north typically causes desertification in africa in the geological history through decreased precipitation. You get a localised hotter dryer climate during periods of average global cooling. Although to my mind this could be from the counter current down that Atlantic coast also stopping because the Gulf stream isn’t providing it with a volume imbalance (not enough data yet).

      Which of course is why Lord Moron prefers to look at temperatures around the Atlantic. That piddly little ocean has more strange climate change effects than almost anywhere else in the world, because it is so narrow and dependent on constrained ocean currents redistributing the heat between the tropics and the arctic. But of course as someone ‘knowledgeable’ about climate change, Lord Moron must know this. So presumably he is cherry picking his facts for some other ulterior purpose?

      • I wasn’t really referring to anything in particular. Mostly I was talking in the abstract about what the scientific method is. But yes, that’s a good example.

        That a particular year is cold because of cyclical effects is evidence that is not inconsistent with climate change.

    • Zorr 1.3

      Or there is a 4th option

      4) The evidence is correct and verifiable through repeat experiments by different researchers. At which point the hypothesis is amended to take in to account the new experimental evidence to produce a new, more correct, hypothesis. This is then tested for any flaws. Repeat ad infitum until hypothesis is sound enough to become a fully fledged scientific theory.

      If all hypotheses got thrown out the moment there was the slightest inaccuracy, there would be the single universal sound of scientists the world over commiting suicide. A hypothesis is meant to be tested rigorously to find any errors in it but that doesn’t mean it becomes useless the moment evidence is found to disprove one of its points. A hypothesis based on the 99% proven one is more useful than a hypothesis based on the 1% or one that just starts over from the starting line as your thought seems to state.

      • That was basically what I was saying. I said “The alternative is option 3 but that will not always mean that the hypothesis is completely wrong, rather that needs to change in some respect.”

        A particular hypothesis is thrown out. But it is replaced by a similar hypothesis that differs in some small respect.

  2. Rob Salmond 2

    Addendum: Even better evidence of Lord Monckton’s fake Nobel claims comes from his own article in the Jarkarta Post in December 2007. The first sentence is:

    “As a contributor to the IPCC’s 2007 report, I share the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.”

    http://mclean.ch/climate/Monckton_Jakarta_Post.pdf

    • zelda 2.1

      IRONY.

      Didnt Al Gore claim he ‘took the initiative in creating the internet’.

      • zelda 2.1.1

        The Nobel Committee said: for the the other half of the prize.

        Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming.

        Thousands of scientists and officials… I wonder who they could be.

      • Pascal's bookie 2.1.2

        Didn’t Al Gore claim he ‘took the initiative in creating the internet’.

        Yep, and in the context of his claim that he did so as a legislator he was quite correct:

        http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

  3. Like Lord Monckton, Dr Michael Coffman has exposed what the world’s elite have got riding on the man-made global warming hoax. Dr Coffman, the CEO of Sovereignty International, headed a multi-million dollar research effort in the early-1990’s, which investigated the effects of global warming on ecosystems in the US. While he says he could not find any evidence of man-made global warming whatsoever, he did establish that there were plans to use the artifice to justify reorganizing the world around socialist, command and control regulation.

    He described Lord Monckton as a leading light.

    He advised that the Cap-and-Trade legislation, which is pending in the US Senate at the moment, will redefine the basis of the US Constitution of the whole free market system to one of socialistic fascism, where the US government is in control of the economy. “It is so bad, it will literally transform the United States of America into a fascist state,’ Dr Coffman said.

    The global warming scam is being used to try and justify the need for the Cap-and-Trade law that will cripple the US economy and make the US dollar more worthless than it is already. It will cause the cost of living to skyrocket and only the “green economy’ will be allowed to prosper, he contends.
    To hear what he had to say in a recent interview regarding these matters, go here:
    http://podcast.gcnlive.com/podcast/nutri_med/1104091.mp3

    • Zorr 3.1

      Nice to see good conspiracy theories are still alive and well.

      Firstly, try reading any of Matt Tiabbis articles for the Rolling Stone. He is a very competent researcher and entertaining writer. He wrote an article a few months back discussing the whole Cap ‘n’ Trade deal. Basically, it is a new market for the Goldman Sachs of the world to speculate in and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds. Given how your quoted resources here have never, in their history, seemed to have gotten anything right despite having a lot to say on everything, I think I will be safely correct that the US has very little to fear from socialism. Heck, it might have a LOT to gain from it, especially in their health care. At least then the taxpayers get something for their money rather than just the lemon capitalism they have at the moment where in both cases, the banks win.

    • Man those communists are good. Imagine melting all of the North Pole just so they can manufacture a crisis that may just may cause them to take over the world Government.

      They are really determined. I wonder how they do it. Maybe they go out at night under the cover of dark with blow torches and spend their time melting ice. Or maybe they hand out packets of matches to penguins.

      Um has anyone seen a soviet on the north pole with a blow torch or a penguin with matches?

  4. zelda 4

    Is that the jist of it ?
    He had a letter in a Scientific Publication, so what it wasnt peer reviewed.
    And your publication history is ?

    • Bright Red 4.1

      You probably should have checked out Rob Salmond’s publication history before writing something like that and making a fool of yourself http://www-personal.umich.edu/~rsalmond/publications.html

      The guy’s an assistant professor. A few publications to his name..

      … honestly zelda, I can’t stop laughing at you.

      anyway, the issue is that Monckton claimed to have written peer-reviwed papers and has not. If I, someone who has not written a peer-reviewed paper, had pointed that out would you have come back with ‘so, what have you done?’. It’s not relevant, Monckton’s the one making the claim, Monckton’s the liar.

      • zelda 4.1.1

        I just asked what were Salmonds publications,
        Were you presuming that to mean something else?
        An assistant professor , nice .. Thats a lecturer equivalent in our system.

        • Bright Red 4.1.1.1

          bizarre strain of personal attack on Salmond here. It’s totally irrelevant to Monck’s self-professed credentials on climate change issues.

          • zelda 4.1.1.1.1

            Hello … Salmond has made a point of a personal attack on the …looney lord !! What a dispstick

            [lprent: If you look at the origional post, it was actually targeted on John Ansell and others from the sewer holding the Lord Moron up as credible speaker on climate change. The mere fact that it was possible to tear the Lord Moron’s claims to pieces was a by-product. It wasn’t targeted at him. BTW: Have you found the edit button yet. Mis-spelling doesn’t help your credibility. ]

            • Bright Red 4.1.1.1.1.1

              the looney lord is holding himself up as an expert on climate change matters. Salmond has ripped his credibility to shreds with the facts.

              The issue is about Monck, not Salmond but you want to make it about Salmond because you’re a climate change denier who sees Monck as a hero and you can’t defend him against the facts Salmond has exposed.

            • zelda 4.1.1.1.1.2

              If you looked at this weeks publication of ‘Nature’ you would see a list of errors and ommisions made in published articles ( and a story about an published paper that was complete bullshit).
              It happens.
              Does it mean that Nature is a fabrication because they have small errors and their ‘facts’ arent ironclad ?

  5. BLiP 5

    The Lord also claims to have won the Falklands War single handedly, that he would have prevented the AIDS crisis, and saved the UK from the poll tax.

    At least he’s modest about his feats in the Olympics.

    • zelda 5.1

      Careful, you are taking someones elses words and then saying they are those of Monckton.

      But this seems to be a direct quote.
      “‘Well,’ he says, breezily, ‘for a few years, the temperature will continue to rise, but nowhere near as fast as the alarmists would wish it to rise. ”

      Temperatures continue to rise !!. Doesnt sound like a denier to me

      • BLiP 5.1.1

        Mate, the only thing Monckton is denying is reality.

        • zelda 5.1.1.1

          So if he made a prediction 20 years ago like Hansen did, and was out by a factor from 100 to 1000, he would be out of touch from reality then.

          Its a double standard, Gore gets ( some ) his facts wrong but gets ( half) a Nobel Prize.
          Hansen makes alarmist comments 20 years ago which are wrong and is a prophet

          Monckton doesnt get all his claims perfectly lined up and is ‘looney’

  6. Rich 6

    I wonder if he was responsible for some of Thatcher’s increasingly foam-flecked attacks on Germany and its leaders around the time of German reunification.

  7. zelda 7

    Just when you thought it was all settled.

    [deleted]

    http://masterresource.org/?p=4307

    [deleted]

    [lprent: One of my troll signatures is someone who copies and pastes stuff from the net without bothering to indicate what is quoted (use blockquote – see the FAQ on quoting ) and what is their comment. In this case you didn’t even bother to make any substantive comment on the topic. This site is here to debate. It isn’t a copy paste area. Take a week off for being stupid and reflect on how to contribute. Oh and read the policy of this site.
    For anyone interested, I’ve left the link in and zelda’s ‘contribution’. However this is plastered over the CCD net’s at present. ]

    • Zorr 7.1

      zelda, if you had just bothered to read the comments section there has already been a commenter who has
      a) brought up some serious issues with the data in the paper
      and
      b) posted links to more fully worded write-ups of the errors in the paper with both the data and the findings

      I will repost the link to the latter here:
      http://www.drroyspencer.com/2009/11/some-comments-on-the-lindzen-and-choi-2009-feedback-study/

      Do me a favor, and stop leaving me to tidy up after your messes.

    • ha ha ha (I'm stupid) 7.2

      God you are an obnoxious hypocritrical wanker Lyn, why don’t you pull your head out of your arse ; at your age you should know better.

      [lprent: Why can’t you learn to write rational comments? I’ve just had a look at the ones you’ve written previously. They don’t show any signs of being able to discourse on any of the topics you’ve discussed.

      Are you really as stupid as your comments suggest? Why should I care about your opinion?

      Ummm I’ll demonstrate my opinion of you. Name amendment coming up…]

  8. gomango 8

    Slightly off topic but there are some very interesting developments going on right now re ETS in Europe. And before anyone attacks me personally let me acknowledge up front I believe in the need for reducing greenhouse emissions, but I’m not sure a flawed ETS will actually do what people expect. In fact it is probably a worse outcome than doing nothing as a flawed scheme has no effect but also takes away the imperative to do something.

    I’ve long believed that the way the European ETS is set up is close to corrupt. Exclusion of certain French and German industries on employment grounds, careful selection of base line date to advantage Europe, and the lack of verification of emissions levels particularly in eastern Europe and Russia are all problematic. Imagine Russia, home of the most concentrated polluting industries in the world on a per capita basis being a net seller of credits! Its just like money – you can invent as many credits as you need. This time though the oligarchs will be stealing off other countries rather than their own.

    Anyway, back on point, recently Poland and Estonia won a court case which essentially said the European Commission does not have the right to impose caps on member states. So at least for the next 3 years Euopean states essentially have the right to set their own cap levels – voila they are all net carbon absorbers rather than emitters. And whatever emissions countries dont use in the next 3 years can be carried forward into the 2013-20 period. And you can be sure there’ll be plenty of other fiddles once 2013 rolls around.

    Credits are now trading at EUR15 a tonne – well down and going lower. There is plenty of research around that values carbon on a “no cheating” basis of 25 to 40 EUR a tonne. The discrepancy is the amount of cheating going on.

  9. Everyone knows that preventing climate change, or at least the worst consequences of it, is not going to be easy. While the task required is large and difficult, there are some simple, quick, and easy fixes that can make a real difference, and perhaps even buy us more time. But they are being ignored.

    http://www.selfdestructivebastards.com/2009/11/low-hanging-fruit.html

  10. ben 10

    Rob, assuming it is you who is responsible for this post – it is pathetic. You do yourself no credit whatsoever by attacking the personal foibles of your critics and so studiously avoiding the topic at hand. In fact I almost can’t believe that a learned individual such as yourself would either knowingly stoop to such a level or fail to recognise the age-old fallacy that is the ad hominem. Monckton wins this argument hands down merely by being willing to engage the issue.

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    TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 15 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. The Climate Commission will publish advice to the Government this evening.Parliament is sitting from Question Time at 2pm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #14
    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 31, 2024 thru Sat, April 6, 2024. Story of the week Proxy measurement via Facebook "engagement" suggests a widely welcoming audience for Prof. Andrew Dessler's The Climate ...
    1 week ago
  • Their Money or Your Life.
    Brooke van Velden appeared this morning on Q&A, presumably paying homage to Margaret Thatcher. The robotic one had come in an 80s pink, shoulder-padded jacket, much favoured by the likes of Thatcher or Hosking. She also brought the spirit of Margaret, seemingly occupying her previously vacant soul compartment.Jack asked for ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Truth pulls its boots on
    It's a lot easier to pull off a lie if people don't know much about what you're lying about.Sometimes, watching Christopher Luxon, you get the impression he doesn't know all that much about it, either.​​ That's the charitable interpretation. The other is that he knows full well.He was on the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Those of a certain vintage in this country will recognise that as a paraphrasing of the much celebrated Paul Holmes sign-off from his nightly current affairs show, yes, he of the “cheekie darkie” comment infamy (that one aimed at then-UN Chief Kofi Annan, and if unfamiliar with what followed in ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago
  • Are You Missing Kindness Yet?
    In my last newsletter I asked how is Luxon this out of touch? Many of you, quite wisely, don’t do the Twitter thing so I thought I’d share a few of the comments from the cross section of humanity that you encounter there.The comment from Clandesdiner@boglyboohoo, not sure if that’s ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 weeks ago
  • How NZ and Taiwan differ in disaster preparedness
    Peter Dunne writes –  Taiwan and New Zealand are two small island states with much in common. Both are vibrant, independent democracies, living in the shadow of an overbearing neighbour. (Admittedly, Taiwan’s overbearing neighbour has far more aggressive tendencies than our at-times overbearing neighbour!) There is a strong ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 weeks ago
  • Why Shane Jones sunk the Kermadecs Marine Sanctuary
    Bryce Edwards writes – Did vested interests prevent New Zealand from establishing a world-leading environmental marine reserve? There are strong signs that in killing off the proposal for a Kermadec Islands Marine Sanctuary, Shane Jones has been doing the bidding of several industries and groups that he’s closely ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 weeks ago
  • Nearly a month of it
    Hello! There has not been an omnibus for about three weeks because covid and bereavement got in the way.Here’s what you may have missed if you’re not a daily reader.Life’s Little Victories - I think I’ve dodged COVIDTwo Bar Blues - I haven’t Relentlessly Negative - Things seem to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 weeks ago
  • Coastal court action flies under the radar
    Graham Adams says NZ’s coastline may end up under iwi control. Former Attorney-General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson is known for his forthright and sometimes combative language. In 2022, in discussing opposition to co-governance, he referred to “the sour right” and “the KKK brigade”. Last week, in ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    2 weeks ago
  • Does a Fiscal Debt Target Make Sense?
    Do we treat the government finances with the common sense that household’s manage theirs?It is a commonly held view that we should treat the government as if it is a prudent household. We don’t when it comes to its debt. Currently the government says it wants to constrain its net ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    2 weeks ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Why Shane Jones sunk the Kermadecs Marine Sanctuary
    Did vested interests prevent New Zealand from establishing a world-leading environmental marine reserve? There are strong signs that in killing off the proposal for a Kermadec Islands Marine Sanctuary, Shane Jones has been doing the bidding of several industries and groups that he’s closely connected with. As Oceans and Fisheries ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 weeks ago
  • Climate Change: Spite destroys success
    The clean car discount was a real policy success in pushing electrification of transport. It worked so well that EV adoption was running five years ahead of the Climate Commission's targets, giving us a real shot at decarbonising light transport. National killed it out of pure spite. And as expected, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • NCEA and truancy issues are high on the agenda for education ministers while progress is made in rep...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Education today advised us the Government is to “rephase” the NCEA Change Programme. The coalition Government is making “significant changes” to the NCEA Change Programme and will delay its implementation by two years. At a time of public service culling, we might ask ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 weeks ago
  • And can you tell me, was it worth it?
    1. How long did it take Mr. Fixit Steven Joyce to fix Novopay?a. One day, for $4000 plus GSTb. One week for $20,000 plus GSTc. At least a year, seemed more like three lold. In the end they just sort of fixed it themselves 2. What has been Steven Joyce’s greatest contribution ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 weeks ago
  • How is Luxon this out of touch?
    Recently, at about this time, I’ve rated the week and looked at what Mike Hosking had to say with ratings. But I don’t want to waste time writing about his heartless, entitled reckons - they just seem a bit much today.For those interested, the things he rated highly were the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 weeks ago
  • A malevolent authoritarian
    One of the fundamentals of the New Zealand government system is consultation. On a broad scale, policy proposals generally need to go through a consultation process with the public, or at least with key stakeholders. And within government, agencies are required to consult each other, with Cabinet requiring formal checks ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Cuts will only scratch the surface
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – While this morning’s news heralded 134 job losses at the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Development has just announced their own plan to achieve the 6.5% savings requested by the new government: We will begin by offering people in some parts of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 weeks ago
  • The affluent pathway to Parliament
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Increasingly the New Zealand Parliament is becoming a place for the affluent. New research out today on the socioeconomic and occupational backgrounds of those in the current Parliament shows that MPs are becoming more and more homogenous. Despite diversifying demographics in terms of gender, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 weeks ago
  • Support the climate strike
    Today is school strike 4 climate day. There will be protests around the country in support of climate action and a lower voting age, which are expected to attract over a hundred thousand people. There's still a pandemic on, so I can't go (curse the pandemic!). But if you feel ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Weekly Roundup 5-April-2024
    It’s Friday again and here are some articles that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday we ran a post for April Fools that the government were banning walking. It seems it struck a nerve and is already our most viewed post – ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 weeks ago
  • Dawn Chorus for Friday, April 5
    Just as infrastructure funding is locked up even more, ASB economists warn of a looming infrastructure bill of $1 trillion over the next 30 years. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items of note for me in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy on Friday, April 5 included:Just as the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 weeks ago
  • The Worst Urban Myths Never Die
    Hi,I really appreciated what José Andrés wrote in the New York Times this week:“In the worst conditions, after the worst terrorist attack in its history, it’s time for the best of Israel to show up. You cannot save the hostages by bombing every building in Gaza. You cannot win this ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 weeks ago
  • The Hoon around the week to April 5
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Confidence in the Government, as measured by Roy Morgan’s ‘Right Track/Wrong Track’ survey, collapsed in March by ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 weeks ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VI
    Time for another D&D update, concerning my Dhampir Sorceror. Session XIII The party departed the tavern, somewhat hungover. Thence we travelled into a forest – home, apparently, of both a fortune-teller and various formidable creatures. Saqua’s experience with forests is of the kelp-variety, so this was all new ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Mr Peters goes to Washington
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is now going to Washington next week for talks with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. He is currently in Brussels at a NATO summit. The visit, with programmes in New York and Washington D.C., will focus on major global and regional security challenges and includes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 weeks ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #14 2024
    Open access notables We need a solid scientific basis for nature-based climate solutions in the United States, Novick et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (perspective): Ambitious NbCS [nature-based climate solutions] programs could deliver benefits for biodiversity, communities, and the climate. Unfortunately, a lack of evidence about specific benefits from specific ...
    2 weeks ago
  • The Treaty’s role in governance arrangements? Restoration of referendums on Māori wards will be h...
    Buzz from the Beehive There’s good news today for proponents of democracy, or democratic government.  That excludes every MP who voted for the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill, which enables the tribe’s rūnanga to appoint two councillors with full voting rights to the council. “Appoint” is the key word.  ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 weeks ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live
    Photo by Anthony Duran on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 weeks ago
  • New oil and gas to quadruple by 2030, threatening climate goals
    By the end of the decade, the fossil fuel industry plans to almost quadruple the number of new developments (and the amount of oil and gas extracted) compared with 2023. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 weeks ago
  • Let me tell you how I feel about COVID
    Let me tell you how I feel about COVID which decked me three weeks ago and left me stuffed until just two days ago.Let me tell you how I feel about COVID, which has lately been leaving workplaces full of holes where their productive labour units should be.Let me tell ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 weeks ago
  • Climate Change: Making polluters pay
    Climate change threatens human civilization. It threatens to kill a billion people. The costs of stopping it, and of adapting to the damage already done - of moving people and infrastructure to protect them from sea-level rise, and of dealing with the resulting floods, droughts, cyclones, heat-waves, and other extreme ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Too complex
    Max Salmon writes –  How complex is too complex? My new report for the New Zealand Initiative, Cabinet Congestion: The Growth of a Ministerial Maze, poses this question with respect to the executive branch of New Zealand’s Government. New Zealand’s executive is incredibly powerful. Its members control the levers ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 weeks ago
  • A Parliament of office workers
    Although there are now more farmers than teachers in the country’s 54th Parliament, office work, politics and humanities education are the dominant backgrounds of MPs.   Mark Blackham and Emily Mingins write –  Research released today by Blackland, a PR consultancy, finds that the six most popular ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 weeks ago
  • Watching Television.
    Some of you might’ve guessed what today’s song is already. As the top comment on YouTube says, “one of the most important records ever made by one of the most underrated bands of all time. Just as relevant today as it was when it was released.”I’d agree with that, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 weeks ago
  • Confidence in Government collapses
    A new poll shows women see the country on the wrong track more dramatically than other cohorts, especially older men, and overall confidence collapsed in March. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items of note in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy on Thursday, April 4 included:A Roy Morgan poll ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 weeks ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Affluent pathway to Parliament
    Increasingly the New Zealand Parliament is becoming a place for the affluent. New research out today on the socioeconomic and occupational backgrounds of those in the current Parliament shows that MPs are becoming more and more homogenous. Despite diversifying demographics in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and so forth, our ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 weeks ago
  • How can I make my retirement plan climate-friendly?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Barbara Grady If you’re worried that your retirement plan might include investments in fossil fuels, here’s what you can do. The first thing you’ll want to do is research what’s in your 401(k). Which stocks and bonds are in the mutual ...
    2 weeks ago
  • The Maddest March since COVID
    March is now over and so too is March Madness – though public transport will likely stay busy at least until school holidays in a few weeks. So how did PT perform in March …. pretty well it turned out. Just prior to March I wrote about how average weekday ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Mark Blackham and Emily Mingins: A Parliament of office workers
    Although there’s now more farmers than teachers in the in the 54th Parliament, office work, politics and humanities education are the dominant backgrounds of MPs. Research released today by Blackland, a PR consultancy, finds that the six most popular careers for MPs are (in descending order) managers, elected representatives, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 weeks ago
  • Chalk marks the position of the body
    Try as he might to dazzle us with his CEO mad skillz, there is no way this lacklustre Prime Minister can conceal the awkward reality that he is but the goofy grinning front end of a horse costume, the monkey who fancies himself the organ grinder, the sad awkward cuck ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 weeks ago
  • “Efficiency” is no reason to violate human rights
    The right to trial by jury is affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act. The National Party wants to take it off you: Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is considering ways to reduce the number of jury trials, saying an increase in defendants choosing them is contributing to delays. Data ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • NZ Govt welcomes the lifting of an injunction (to protect the Maui dolphin) which banned some fish i...
    Buzz from the Beehive The lifting of a temporary ban on some New Zealand fish exports to the United States was hailed by two New Zealand ministers as a win for commonsense. Sea Shepherd spokesperson Michael Lawry, on the other hand, told RNZ “politics and power” had won over science. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 weeks ago
  • Why Do We Love True Crime?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 weeks ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the death of library browsing
    For many of us, the word “library” has comfortable connotations. It suggests rows of books in which to browse, make discoveries and pass them on to friends and family. Beyond being a resource centre for culture and practical information, a typical library is also a community meeting ground and a ...
    2 weeks ago
  • I'm not a cynic.
    I'm just bein' realistic, bein' honest with myselfI've tried bein' optimistic but it doesn't seem to helpSo I'll just have to admit this is the hand that I've been dealtI'm not bein' pessimistic, just bein' honest with myselfI remember a family outing at lake Rotoiti, near Rotorua. It always felt ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 weeks ago
  • Success City
    Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the Council’s City Centre Advisory Panel. On the back of the latest Infometrics data release, the Council through its economist Gary Blick has been publishing a whole lot of great numbers: For the second year in a row, Auckland’s high-achieving city centre has ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    2 weeks ago
  • Dawn Chorus for Wednesday, April 3
    These homes in Mt Cook, Wellington were demolished but the large rebuild project is now paused and the site sits idle, along with other social housing projects around the country. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six newsy things of note to me in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 7:06 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 weeks ago
  • Beehive bloat
    While the new Government repeatedly vows to cut waste from within the Government, it has created seven new ministries and abolished only two left over from the Labour Government. A new study says that the more Ministers a government has, the more it will spend and the more difficult it ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 weeks ago
  • At a glance – Global warming and the El Niño Southern Oscillation
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Criminal enterprises
    It was easter over the weekend, which meant the annual "debate" over relic easter trading laws, and various businesses deliberately flouting them for profit. I'd prefer those out-dated laws to be reformed - my preference is to make easter Sunday a public holiday, which solves all the problems other than ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago

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  • $4.9m project completed with marae reopening
    A significant marae has reopened in the heart of Rotorua marking the end of renovations for the Ruatāhuna Marae Renovation Cluster, a project that provided much-needed jobs and regional economic stimulus, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones was at the official reopening of Mātaatua ki Rotorua Marae today. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Pure Tūroa Limited to operate Tūroa ski field
    Ko Tahuarangi te waka – Tahuarangi is the ancestral vessel Ko Rangitukutuku te aho – Rangitukutuku is the fishing line Ko Pikimairawea te matau – Pikimairawea is the hook Ko Hāhā te Whenua te ika kei rō-wai – Hāhā te whenua is the fish (of Māui) whilst under the ocean ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Methane targets to be independently reviewed
    Rebuilding New Zealand’s economy will rely on the valuable agricultural sector working sustainably towards our climate change goals.  Today, the Climate Change and Agriculture Ministers announced that an independent panel of experts will review agricultural biogenic methane science and targets for consistency with no additional warming. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • NZ and Nordics: likeminded partners
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has highlighted the strong ties that bind New Zealand and the Nordic countries of Northern Europe during a trip to Sweden today.    “There are few countries in the world more likeminded with New Zealand than our friends in Northern Europe,” Mr Peters says.    “We ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • First New Zealand C-130J Hercules takes flight
    The first New Zealand C-130J Hercules to come off the production line in the United States has successfully completed its first test flights, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. “These successful flights are a significant milestone for the New Zealand Defence Force, bringing this once-in-a-generation renewal of a critical airlift ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government to rephase NCEA Change Programme
      The coalition Government is making significant changes to the NCEA Change Programme, delaying the implementation by two years, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “Ensuring New Zealand’s curriculum is world leading is a vital part of the Government’s plan to deliver better public services and ensure all students ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Ngāpuhi investment fund Chair appointed
    Ben Dalton has been appointed the new board Chair of Tupu Tonu, the Ngāpuhi Investment Fund, says Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones. “Ben brings a wealth of experience in governance and economic development to the position. He will have a strong focus on ensuring ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Education should be prioritised ahead of protesting
    Students should be in school and learning instead of protesting during school hours, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. “If students feel strongly about sending a message, they could have marched on Tuesday when there was a nationwide teacher only day, or during the upcoming school holidays. It has become ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Delivering on Local Water Done Well
    Cabinet has agreed on key steps to implement Local Water Done Well, the Coalition Government’s plan for financially sustainable locally delivered water infrastructure and services, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.  "Councils and voters resoundingly rejected Labour’s expensive and bureaucratic Three Waters regime, and earlier this year the Coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Peters to visit New York, Washington D.C.
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters will engage with high-level United States Government and United Nations officials in the United States next week (6-12 April).    The visit, with programmes in New York and Washington D.C., will focus on major global and regional security challenges and includes meetings with US Secretary of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Security cooperation in challenging world
    New Zealand is committed to working more closely with NATO partners to support collective security in a worsening strategic environment, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The Coalition Government has made clear the strong emphasis it places on cooperation with New Zealand’s traditional partners, and NATO is a big part ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Construction starts on Queenstown roading upgrades
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has kicked off construction on $250 million upgrades to State Highway 6/6A (SH6/6A) in Queenstown that will boost economic growth, reduce congestion, and create a safer and more reliable transport network. “With more than 40,000 vehicles passing through each day at peak times, the current SH6/6A Frankton ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand “open for business” for Build To Rent
    Associate Finance Ministers David Seymour and Chris Bishop say overseas investment in Build To Rent housing will be welcomed in New Zealand under a new directive letter they have issued to Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the regulator for the Overseas Investment Act. Build To Rent (BTR) is a type ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Coalition Government to require referendums on Māori wards
    The Coalition Government will restore the rights of communities to determine whether to introduce Māori wards, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.  “The Government will introduce a Bill in the coming months that will restore the ability for communities to petition their councils to hold binding polls on Māori ward ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • ERO report confirms need for clearer curriculum
    A report by the Education Review Office (ERO) on Aotearoa New Zealand Histories confirms that teachers need better clarity on curriculum and how to deliver it, Minister of Education Erica Stanford says. “Despite the hard work of teachers, education achievement and attendance have declined significantly in the last few years. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Building products shakeup to lower prices
    The coalition Government is eliminating barriers to the use of overseas building products to make it easier and more affordable to build in New Zealand, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government has a plan to rebuild the economy to help Kiwis get ahead, and part of that plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • NZ-NASA research partnerships announced
    Twelve New Zealand research teams will conduct joint six-month feasibility studies looking at Earth observation research with NASA, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “The research teams will conduct feasibility studies in environmental monitoring, water and climate modelling, natural hazards, and biodiversity,” Ms Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Project applications for Fast Track open today
    Applications are now open for projects to be included in the Government’s legislation establishing a one-stop shop fast-track approvals regime, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones. “Making it easier and faster to build significant projects is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government creates establishment board for charter schools
    Associate Education Minister David Seymour has announced the Charter School | Kura Hourua Establishment Board to guide the formation of the charter school model, so that the first schools can open in 2025. “Charter schools will provide educators with greater autonomy, create diversity in New Zealand’s education system, free educators ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Secondary teachers moving to New Zealand fast tracked to residence
    3 April 2024 Secondary teachers moving to New Zealand fast tracked to residence  Secondary teachers moving to New Zealand will be put on a fast track to residency to help address workforce shortages, Immigration and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced today.   “Shortages in secondary teachers, especially those in specific regions ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • United States lifts ban on New Zealand fish exports
    A temporary ban on some New Zealand fish exports to the United States has been lifted in a win for commonsense, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay say. The United States’ Court of International Trade lifted a preliminary injunction that temporarily stopped trade ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Conflicts past and present form backdrop to historic visit to Poland
    Polish refugees arriving in New Zealand during World War II and the extreme human impacts of the war in Ukraine were themes of Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ visit to Warsaw today.    “This year marks the 80th Anniversary of the arrival on our shores of Polish refugee children and their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Flu campaign reinforces the importance of vaccination
    Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti says the start of this year’s flu campaign reinforces the importance of vaccination in keeping New Zealanders healthy during the winter months ahead and protecting the health frontline Receiving a flu vaccination in Auckland today, Dr Reti says getting a flu shot not only ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Flu campaign reinforces the importance of vaccination
    Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti says the start of this year’s flu campaign reinforces the importance of vaccination in keeping New Zealanders healthy during the winter months ahead and protecting the health frontline Receiving a flu vaccination in Auckland today, Dr Reti says getting a flu shot not only ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government continues to deliver for New Zealand
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has launched the Government’s next action plan to deliver for New Zealand – setting out key steps to be taken by June 30 to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and improve public services.  “I am proud to lead a government of action. We are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • NZ announces humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Sudan
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced $6 million in humanitarian assistance to those affected by conflict in Gaza and Sudan during his ongoing visit to Egypt.   “There are huge and urgent humanitarian needs in both Gaza and Sudan, and it is important that New Zealand continues to make its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Jones backs super snapper for economic growth
    A new project to breed ‘super’ snapper that are more resistant to disease, grow faster, and can thrive in warmer water could help drive more economic growth through aquaculture, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says.  “The potential here goes far beyond growing a better and more resilient breed of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • EV road user charges bill passes
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April.  “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Bill targets illegal, unregulated fishing in international waters
    New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Reserve Bank appointments
    Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates.  Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Stronger protections for apartment owners
    Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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